Baker’s Dozen Plus 3

We have made huge strides in the area of writing through using the techniques we are learning with Mrs. Kurzman. We are producing so much that I have been unable to keep up with it and share with you on the blog. However, I would like to point out to you a few places you should check out.

1. The Ox Cart Man work is displayed just outside Mrs. Belknap’s room. We are all very proud of this work.
2. Check our Halloween poems outside our classroom. Our first poetry of the year. Good stuff!
3. In the classroom there are many displays showing off our research of earlier settlers, and a fantastic example of vocabulary research where the children used dictionaries, thesauruses, each other, etc. to delve into a word each person chose. (Mrs. Kurzman was here yesterday and was thrilled with what she saw.)
4. Also in the classroom, is a display of drawings and reflective paragraphs about each person’s cornhusk doll. (Please check out some of these reflections on our writing page.)
5. Lastly, each student wrote a report about himself or herself identifying a symbol that best represents the individual. There are framed pictures that accompany each piece of writing. These pieces will take your breath away. Currently, they are displayed on a table in the classroom.

Sadly I am unable to upload pictures at this time.  I really like being able to include them in the blog as I believe it brings the blog to life seeing those adorable little faces next to the text.  Oh well, what can you do, that’s the downfall of technology.

Also, I would appreciate from time to time getting a comment from folks about postings even if, it just says you have read the blog.  Often times I am not sure who is getting the information and who is not and it is important for all of us to be on the same “page” so to speak.

Lastly, there are many days when I make more than one entry.  This happens for a couple of reasons.  One, I like some articles to be under their own titles.  I think by doing this it is easier for people to digest the information.  Secondly, I write when I can or when something has moved me in the classroom.  So, FYI do look below the top entry to make sure you have read all the current information.

That’s it for now.  Take care and don’t forget, IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO VOLUNTEER FOR HELPING OUT AT THE SKI AND SKATE SALE!

I have caught a couple of posts that I thought I published and didn’t.  The one yesterday announcing today’s assembly was one of them.  It is now out of order, but I did want it to be a part of our history on the blog.  Sorry.  G

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11th, at 7:45 a.m., our class will be leading the school in a Veteran’s Day observance ceremony. The school community will begin its observance at the flagpole. Mr. Hill will be playing a patriotic song on his horn, we will raise the flag, and say the pledge of allegiance, and then continue our salute to our veterans in the gym. This is a solemn occasion and should be entered into quietly and respectfully. Some children conducted their jobs this afternoon by practicing an invitation to each of the classrooms which in turn they went and did. Please be sure to be here on time so that anyone who is practicing a speaking part will be here to perform. Wearing red, white, and blue might be an added touch for the occasion. Eli and Wes will be wearing their boy scout uniforms as they will be presenting the flag for us.

1. Please send in your parent conference request. If I do not receive one, I will assign a time in hopes it will work for your schedule.
2. Conferences are scheduled for November 24th and 25th from 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. each evening.  Children are not invited to conferences this time.  They will be next time.  It is important to be able to speak freely for both you and I.
3. Report cards go home next Friday, November 21st.  Please look confirmation of your conference in your report card.

Thanks to all who were able to attend this morning. I was truly proud of each of my students and in fact, the entire school. Everyone stood respectfully as the flag was raised (twice), the pledge was recited, and the anthem played. We had some technical difficulty with the flag staying up, but with the boy scouts help, we got it to stay. Congratulations to River (he memorized his introductions), Izzy and Quillyn who spoke about the video and veterans day, Jonathan, Winston, Eli, and Wes for their part in the assembly.  (Great picture to follow of Eli and Wes…having difficulties uploading photos to the site.)

The annual PTA ski and skate sale is scheduled for this weekend.  The PTA funds a variety of experiences throughout the year with the funds raised at this event.  The trip to the Flynn, the garden teacher and materials, special assemblies, the Wednesday ski program, teacher initiatives, artist in residence, etc. are just a few ways the PTA supports the educational experiences of your child.  Please help by volunteering during Friday set-up, Saturday or Sunday.  You do not need to be knowledgeable of equipment to volunteer.  Trust me, I have no clue, but was able to participate last year.  There is a sign-up board in the school lobby.  Do what you can, when you can, for as long as you can.  It would be great if each student in our class was represented by at least one parent.  Let’s set a goal to be the only class to have full participation.  As an aside, thank your Krissa for heading up this fundraiser.  Finally, the kids and I will be untangling hangers this Thursday, from 12:30 – 1:30.

I received the spelling program I saw at the conference I recently attended. So, please look for homework to include a spelling list beginning this week. I will be writing more about the program at a later time. Homework will be coming tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11th. We were extremely busy and unable to get the assignments in our book and review the work due to preparations for the assembly.

The “homework binder” has gone through an update. We are going to try using a visa ve marker or white board marker on the laminated pages. This will hopefully help eliminate ripping of pages and in the end save on paper. Who would have guessed it would be such a process to get a system up and running. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to try to save money. (I did my own this year in hopes to save the expense of last year’s books.)

The children have been problem solving some issues in the closet area. They have decided that boots should all be kept in one location on a tray system. Mark Haberle willingly agreed to construct such a tray once we have determined the size. We also talked about small containers for the wet mittens and hats to fit on the shelf at the top. Thanks to the PTA I will be purchasing some buckets this week for that purpose. I must tell you, I wish all of your were able to hear your children during our class meetings discussing the issues at hand. They are very thoughtful with their ideas and are learning how to expand on another person’s thoughts. Yeah!

I must end now to get to a chiropractic appointment on time, but there will be plenty more to tell you about in the coming days. We are producing some phenomenal writing of which I intend to post on that page. We are putting our final touches on the motion unit by completing a movie we hope to share at conferences. I am excited about it all and so much more. Take care. Georgeanne

Recently I attended a Vermont Council on Reading conference at the Stoweflake Inn. Marjorie Lipson a well-known professor/researcher in the area of reading, currently teaches at UVM and speaks to teachers around the country about her research and publications. Below are a few details I found most interesting from her talk.

• Basal readers are too formulaic for the reading to be generalized.
• Vocabulary does predict comprehension in third grade on up.
• Phonological awareness (the ability to flexibly work with sounds…words…sentences predicts second and third grade reading accomplishments.
• Fewer than a third of all fourth and eighth graders are consider proficient readers.
• Between one-fourth and one-third are below basic level.
• The teaching of phonics and syllabication determines one’s ability to recognize words.
• Development of word meaning is important in the acquisition of obtaining new vocabulary.
• A limited vocabulary entering fourth grade is likely to cause significant difficulties in reading comprehension.
• Prior knowledge of words and their meanings, helps the reader figure out new words.
• Teaching the habit of reading is paramount and should be accomplished by sustained silent reading at a time rate appropriate for the age level.
• Teaching phonics should be over by grade 2, decoding automatically, reading age and grade appropriate materials, and teaching fluency should be a focus for grade 3, working on syllabication and morphology, and having the habit of reading should happen from grade 4 on.

Just food for thought. I found it fascinating and affirming that vocabulary determines success in comprehension in the middle grades because it is a love and focus of my teaching. We just completed our cards for the songs we will be singing at the second assembly in November. Each person conducted his or her own research around his or her word of choice. Some chose to identify suffixes that could be used with the base word, wrote stories using the word properly, included the definition, the quote from the song, categorized, etc. It is definitely this type of work that will increase the learners understanding of the English language.

At the conference, I received some samples of short books that were recommended for increasing fluency and comprehension. I also order a few others when I returned home. The set of six books comes with a lesson plan and graphic organizers that help the reader understand the work. I am really excited to use them with the class.

Hello everyone.  I trust Halloween wasn’t too spooky for you.  I was really thrilled with the children’s work last week.  They all took their jobs seriously and with a great deal of pride completed work in a timely manner.  Even on Halloween, they kept their focus and remained pretty calm.  We had a great time being silly and writing some poetry in the afternoon.  I asked the children to sort their candy for a piece of homework the will do this week.  If for some reason they did not do this, they can make up their data to accomplish the assignment. I will demonstrate with Cecilia’s candy tomorrow.

Please remember, we will be at the Flynn on Monday leaving about 8:15 a.m. and returning for lunch.  We are seeing The Velveteen Rabbit.  Please keep your eyes out for entries on the Science and Writing pages this week.  Talk to you soon.